During the testing of semiconductor components during production, the external contacts of the semiconductor components are brought into contact with test heads of a tester in order to electrically connect the tester to the semiconductor components. As described in U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2005/0140009 to Groeninger (the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety), external contact areas are increasingly arranged on the underside of electronic components. These are used for connection with higher-level circuit parts and replace the contact pins previously arranged at the edge in the form of external flat conductors.
Before an external contact area is connected to the higher-level circuit arrangement or to solder pads, its coated with a layer of solderable material. This layer is formed from metals or metal alloys that are galvanically deposited on the external contact area and, in this process, forms a matte surface with sharp edges. However, such a galvanically deposited layer has a disadvantageous effect on the transition and contact resistance during functional tests of the electronic component. This, in turn, impairs the life of the elastic test contacts, especially since these are contaminated with the layer material of the external contact areas even after a few test cycles. The test contacts must be frequently cleaned or exchanged. The fluctuating transition resistances also impair the yield of the first test sequences (this yield is called the “first pass yield”). Accordingly, these first test sequences must be repeated in order to find out whether the yield losses are caused by faulty components or by large transition resistances. These subsequent tests increase the expenditure and lead to a low production throughput.